The War Within Us
by FenrirOfTheSith
Summary: Sam's older brother Max Sharp is coming home after being deployed overseas in the war. While initially excited to have their eldest son back, the Sharp family begins to notice that Max isn't looking well and that the war may still be going on.


The streets of Uzbekistan were quiet, that is to say relatively quiet for a ration that had recently had hell rain down on it in the form of bombs and artillery shells. Street bazaars, cotton fields, and villages were replaced by craters, vehicle wreckages, and ruins. The only signs of human activity so far were a small squad of about two dozen American soldiers of the US Army's 173rd Airborne, patrolling the streets with their M4s loaded and ready to fire. Driving alongside them were two humvees equipped with .50 caliber machine guns to provide backup firepower should the need arise.

"Alright men survey the area! Our artillery support may have taken out their fortified positions but there may still be stragglers in the ruins!" Their company commander ordered. "Keep your guard up!"

The soldiers nodded and stayed together in a tight formation ensuring all of their flanks were covered. Amongst the soldiers was a very young sergeant named Max Sharp. He wasn't anything too special amongst his fellow soldiers on paper though his high scores during boot camp earned him the respect of his higher ups. That may have been how he got to become a sergeant so soon though he was only an E-5 which was the lowest rank within the league of Sergeants. He aimed through his M4's CompM2 sight searching cautiously for any signs of the enemy finger on the trigger ready for anything. The past thirty six hours could only be described as hell. This small city had been held by the Islamic terrorist group that had seized the country a year prior and they were doing everything in their ability to keep the Americans out. The 173rd with artillery assistance from the USMC's 11th Marine Regiment had breached the city and were instructed to head towards the town hall and secure it. Max was sweating underneath his combat uniform though he was sure his fellow soldiers weren't any better. They hadn't slept in almost twenty four hours and were still exhausted from fighting the previous night.

"RPG!"

Max's thoughts stopped and his instincts took over when he heard this scream! The twenty two year old E-5 immediately ducked for cover and sure enough with a loud hiss and a trail a smoke a rocket whizzed above them missing them thankfully and striking a pile of rumble. The blast was small but powerful as it kicked up debris with a puff of gray smoke and creating a small shock wave that shook everyone. But before anyone could appreciate how lucky they were shots began to ring out.

"Ambush!" the commander called out and ordered all troops to return fire.

Sure enough to the front left side in what appeared to be a ruined apartment complex were muzzle flashes from the windows. Max could see the outline of several militants shooting at them with AK47s and shouting in their native tongue. The humvees moved forward and bit and while their gunners unloaded their .50 calibers on the building kicking up dust. Max and his squadmates took cover behind some wreckage and returned fire with their rifles. They couldn't really see the enemy but they needed to do something.

"Dammit!" Max swore to himself as he fired a long burst from his rifle at the building.

The first one to go on Max's side was a private named Dover. The private was struck multiple times in the chest causing puffs of red mist from his blood to spray out. He slumped over next to Max and stopped moving.

"Man down!" Max called out in desperation as the bullets whizzed past him striking the slap of concrete he hid behind.

He could feel the sonic booms they were giving off as the hot lead flew by him. Max's vision suddenly began to blur and his head spun. He started shaking uncontrollably and his heart was in his throat.

"Max!"

He thought he heard a loud whisper in the distance. Max groaned and tried to cry for help but the words couldn't come. He could only whimper as the bullets zipped past him with their fiery hate.

"Max!"

The voice became louder and he felt the ground start to shake. His whole world was coming down. The rattling machine guns, the men screaming, the explosions, the spinning it was all too much. And the voice kept calling him and drilling a hole through his mind.

"Max! Max! Max! Max!"

Max woke up with a gasp for air in a heap of sweat! He looked around breathing deeply and shaking. He was not in Uzbekistan but rather in a waiting room at an international airport in Italy. He looked down at himself. He wasn't in dirt covered, blood stained military fatigues but rather sweat pants and a light blue jacket. Instead of a rifle he was holding a duffle bag full of clothes and personal belongings.

"Max!" he heard the same voice call and he turned only to see his squad mate David Vasquez next to him.

"David wh-what happened?" Max coughed up as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Your plane is ready to board." David smiled and tapped his buddy on the shoulder. "You alright?"

Max nodded and took in a deep breath, "Yeah, just another nightmare."

Vazquez frowned and could sense something was wrong. Both he and Sharp went through basic training together and served alongside each other both in the camp in Italy and the Uzbekistan conflict. The two were practically brothers. However Max was honorably discharged on medical grounds followed a rather nasty shrapnel injury to his leg and hips. Max had spent several days in a combat hospital as the doctors slowly pulled out tiny pieces of slag metal. Poor guy was in a lot of pain but thankfully he recovered and none of of the pieces manage to hit his family jewels!

David still had one more year of service to complete before he could be discharged too and rejoin his friend in civilian life. Which sucked too because David said he knew a good bar where they could get a couple beers. David was on temporary leave to see Max home.

"Hey buddy listen, I wish I could join you back home but I still have one more year to complete." He said as he patted his friend's back. "But listen you know how to contact me and if anything bothers you don't be afraid to call."

Max nodded and got up and began to head to the line to his plane. His leg was stiff and sore as he walked though, a painful reminder of his little tour.

"Good luck out there bro!" Vasquez called as he waved his longtime comrade goodbye.

Max smiled and nervously got in line and prepared to board his plane. His excitement to be coming home ignored the trembling in his skin. His nerves were still shaky but hopefully he'd get over it by the time he was in the air.

"Boy I'm glad that day's over with!" Samatha Sharp said as she walked out of the school with her girlfriend Luna Loud.

"I know right!" Luna giggled back as she held Sam's hand. "I'm finally glad to be out of Mr. Lemoniski's class! I almost fell asleep."

Luna and Sam giggled as they walked out of the school trying not to be trampled by the other high schoolers trying to leave. It was Friday so everyone was excited to be out and enjoy their weekend plans.

"So Sam tonight you wanna come over to my place?" Luna said with a little blush. "I mean we can jam out in my room and maybe watch some tv?"

Luna had a crush on Sam since middle school and it was only recently did she finally summon the courage to write her a letter telling her how she felt.

"Well that sounds nice Luna but I can't." Sam politely declined as they arrived at the front parking lot and waiting for their families.

Luna frowned a little but nodded, "Okay I mean I was just offering…"

Sam smiled and hugged Luna close.

"Oh it's okay Luna. It's just tonight we need to get our house cleaned for a special guest." Same explained with a hint of excitement. "My brother Max is finally coming home!"

"Ah sweet dude!" Luna's frown turned back to a smile as she hugged Sam back. "You know I've never met him but you talk about him all the time!"

Sam nodded to Luna as it was the truth. Sam loved her brothers Max and Simon. Well technically his name wasn't Max. His real name was Matthew Sharp however Sam gave him that nickname when she was only two because she said "Max" instead of Matt. He wasn't just an older brother he was like a second father to Sam. He was the one who got her into music and taught her guitar. He was the one who sang her to sleep when she was fuzzy or sick. However when he got older they began becoming distant and almost immediately after he graduated high school he left to join the army.

"I'm so nervous Luna…" Sam giddied a little bit. "I haven't seen him in person for almost four years now!"

Truth is the past few years were very stressful for the Sharp family. When the coup in Uzbekistan occured and it was announced the US would join forces in Russia in an international mission against the Islamic sect, they learned that Max's unit would be deployed there. Sam herself had many sleepless nights and remembered waking up at midnight to see her mom and dad watching the news almost trance like desperately hoping Max would be okay. When they got news that he had been injured in combat her mom almost had a heart attack. Even Simon was scared for him and would wake up crying for his big brother to come home.

"I bet!" Luna answered. "I my little bro was away fighting in a war I'd be nervous to see him again too."

It was at that time that Sam saw her mom pull up with her car and opened the door.

"You want a ride home Luna?" Sam offered with a smile.

"Nah it's fine my sister's will be here soon." She explained.

Sam walked up and opened the car's passenger door, "Okay then see you tomorrow?"

Luna smiled and blew Sam a kiss causing her to blush.

"Of course luv!" She spoke in a faux british accent.

Sam got into the car and buckled up after setting her backpack to the side.

"How was school honey?" Her mom asked in the front seat of the car as she carefully pulled out of the school parking lot and onto the main road.

"Oh it was cool mom." Sam replied somewhat apathetically. Right now she wasn't focused on school. "Hey mom when is Max going to arrive?"

"Oh your father's going to pick him up at the airport in Grand Rapids at seven so he should be home at nine or ten-ish." Her mom answered somewhat cheerfully.

They drove for about five minutes before pulling up to their driveway. Sam's mom parked the car and Sam grabbed her bag and got out. She noticed her ten year old brother Simon was in the front yard playing with some kind of remote helicopter.

"Sammy!" Simon called as he ran up to his big sister and hugged her. Sam smiled and laughed, Simon could be a little creep but she loved him.

"Hey Simon what're you doing home so early?" Sam asked wondering why he was home even though his school didn't end until a half hour later.

"We got the day off today because the school was temporarily closed due to a chemical spill." He explained with high energy. "Something about one of the kindergartners spilling something that exploded in the science lab."

Sam kinda snickered to herself as judging by what Luna had told her about her siblings she had a sneaking suspicion of who it was.

"Well that's probably a good thing because we need to get ready for tomorrow!"

Simon looked confused at first but then remembered.

"Oh yeah Max is coming home!" He practically screamed and began running around cheering.

"Yep! Dad's picking him up tomorrow and he'll be able to see us!"

"Oh this is awesome! We can hang out and play video games and football and mudslide and…"

"Whoa whao calm down there trooper!" Sam smiled. "Remember what mom said though. He's been through a lot over the past years so we need to be a bit quiet."

Simon nodded and calmed down a bit though he was still jittery.

"Yeah I know. Mom said he was hurt over in Ubisi...Obisis…" Simon struggled to pronounce the name of the country his brother fought in.

"Uzbekistan Simon." Sam sounded out. "Yes he was hurt there. He's healed but he needs to take it easy."

Simon nodded and Sam took his hand. "C'mon Simon let's go inside and grab a quick snack okay?"

She took her brother inside and set her backpack down by the door. She sighed with relief as the school weight on her shoulders was finally lifted. When she headed to the kitchen Simon was already there sipping from a juice box. She opened up the fridge and grabbed a fruit smoothie she had been saving. The strawberry-banana flavor helped wash away the taste of stress and school away.

"Ah that was refreshing" Sam said when she finished.

Simon concurred with a loud burp.

"Ew really Simon?" Sam said as she threw away the empty smoothie cup.

Simon just laughed and ran out of the kitchen and upstairs to his room. Sam could only shake her head at her brother. Living with a younger sibling with ADHD wasn't easy especially with both parents working full jobs and an older brother away fighting a war. Now that Max was coming home maybe things could feel a bit normal for a bit. Sam couldn't wait to see him again. She missed him dearly though she didn't often show it as much as her mom and dad. She also had something very important she wanted to talk to him about and she hoped he would accept it.

_The next morning…._

Max yawned as he exited his flight terminal and entered Gerald Ford International in Grand Rapids. He was exhausted not only from jet lag but the fact that he couldn't really sleep a wink. He drifted in and out of sleep on the flight but he couldn't fall completely asleep. The dufflebag of his stuff was strapped to his back as he walked out of the line and headed to where he was to meet his dad. It didn't take him too long as he spotted a man in his mid fifties holding up a giant sign saying "Welcome Home Max!". It was his father. The twenty two year old E-5 walked up to the man and smiled as his father put down the sign and gave his son a big hug.

"Hey dad." Max said with a tired greeting.

"Welcome home son." His dad replied trying to fight back tears of joy.

The tired soldier was finally home.


End file.
